‘Simply immoral’: Ontario pharmacists poised to trash thousands of expiring Moderna doses as demand declines
For Toronto pharmacist Kyro Maseh, the thought of tossing a life-saving vaccine into the trash is gut-wrenching.
But the owner of Lawlor Pharmasave on Kingston Road will soon have to throw away about 350 doses of Moderna “liquid gold,” as he puts it, if he can’t find arms for the shots before they expire August 2.
“It is just simply immoral, just sinful,” Maseh said Friday. “This could have saved a lot of lives in other countries.”
The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine only lasts 30 days in pharmacy fridges, and must be discarded if not administered by then. However, demand for the brand in Ontario is declining, due in part to skepticism about mixing and matching doses and misinformation about Moderna.
“The answer is simple,” said Maseh. “Just send it to countries that need it.”
But there is no protocol in place for donating soon-to-expire shots to jurisdictions starving for COVID-19 vaccines, partially due to strict quality control and cold chain custody requirements.
“While it is a shame if we do end up wasting, the extraction is very complex once the supply is distributed into the channel,” Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, told CTV Toronto.
“It’s not a simple solution once it’s in the fridge in the pharmacy.”
Bates estimates that thousands of doses could soon be forced to hit the trash in Ontario pharmacies as demand diminishes.
The Ontario Ministry of Health told CTV Toronto that it is working with local partners to redistribute doses to areas in need, as well as with federal partners “to explore vaccine donation opportunities in the future.”
Health Canada, meanwhile, said that work is underway to develop options for excess doses, particularly in certified depots where integrity can be assured.
“What I think needs to happen is the doses need to be reallocated from the top,” Ontario pharmacist Kristen Watt told CTV Toronto Friday. “So before they land on Canadian soil, they need to be redirected to where they need to go.”
Watt herself has had to toss expired COVID-19 vaccines, which she describes as “moral injury” for pharmacists.
But she said she’s trying to focus on celebrating each additional dose given, at this point, rather than doses lost.
“If I can open one vial and give it to a person that was previously vaccine-hesitant, before they have a [COVID-19] exposure, that is a life that I have potentially saved, rather than focusing on the five or 10 doses I may have lost in that vial,” Watt said.
Maseh, meanwhile, said he is prepared to drive his expiring doses anywhere he can to prevent them from going to waste.
“For so long they were liquid gold,” he said. “But they still are in many jurisdictions, and we need to keep that in mind.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.